If That Boy Don't Love You By Now
by Katana Black
Summary: Cloud's lack of romantic skills and gaping crush on Sephiroth is starting to worry Zack. So, he's taking matters into his own hands. By the time he's through with them, they'll definitely be in love...right? Warning: yaoi boyxboy , AU, OOC
1. Prelude to Disaster

His fingers danced across the ivory keys with a haunting, swaying melody. The soft-haired blond stood in the doorway, transfixed. The pianist and he were the only ones left in the theatre, everyone else having already gone home. As the silveret's notes quieted and his fingers slowed, the blond shifted, unconsciously making a noise of displeasure that his private show was coming to an end. The pianist whirled around abruptly, the unfinished chords hanging in the air as his fingers fell from the keys.

Cloud's eyes widened a fraction before he schooled his face into its usual expression of disinterest. "Sorry," he mumbled, turning from the doorway and hurrying down the hall.

The pianist abruptly pushed back against the piano, the bench making a screech as he made to stand up. "Wait," he called out, but the man was already gone.

* * *

"Tiiiiiiifaaaaa," Cloud moaned, slumping down at the bar.

Seventh Heaven, the bar where Tifa worked and they both lived, was busy that night. It was a typically late Friday night; the sounds of clicking glasses, various conversations, and rock music mixed together in the air. The woman in question turned to her friend. "Cloooouuuuud," she said mockingly in reply.

"Don't mock me in my misery, Tif," muttered Cloud. "Get me a Screwdriver instead."

The dark-haired fighter laughed. "Alright, Cloud," she said, turning away to prepare a drink, "what happened this time?"

Cloud propped his head up on one hand. "Nothing," he said sullenly.

"What do you mean, 'nothing'?" Tifa Lockhart pushed a glass towards him and waited.

"That's just it, nothing," exclaimed Cloud, throwing his hands in the air. "I was standing there, watching him, and then he turned around, and I freaked and ran away!" The exasperated blond banged his head against the countertop.

"Hey, easy there, Spikey," said another voice, "There aren't many people crazy enough as you to fill the spot of my best friend if you—hey! Tif, lay off!" Zachary Fair laughed and held his arms up in defense as Tifa shoved him off his stool.

"He's not in the mood for it tonight, Zack," she said seriously, silently mouthing the word, _Sephiroth_.

Zack sobered up. "Hey. Hey, Cloud," he said softly, jostling his friend's shoulder. "What's up, man?"

Cloud turned his face toward the sound of his best friend's voice. "I'm an idiot, that's what's up," he said miserably, not even bothering to open his eyes.

"Tell me something I don't know," muttered Zack, glancing down a moment later to see his best friend's cerulean blue eyes glaring at him. "Joking, joking," he hastily explained with a smile.

Cloud sighed, finally taking the drink Tifa had made for him into his hands. "I was packing up after rehearsal, and he was playing the piano in the rehearsal room. So I stopped by the doorway to listen, and he saw me, and I…" Cloud trailed off, not finishing the story, but Zack understood anyway.

"Oh," he said quietly. He looked to Tifa, who only shrugged. "Listen, Cloud," he began.

"I get so stupid around him," said Cloud suddenly, "like—I don't know. I try to act the way other people do, but I—I always end up doing it wrong." He took a large gulp from his drink.

Zack and Tifa looked to each other. In the three weeks since rehearsals had started, since Cloud first saw the man, he had never admitted this much to them. "Do you mean—I mean, are you—um, you can't _flirt_ with him?" Zack asked carefully.

Cloud fixed his friend with a hard stare, but said nothing.

Zack let out a relieved sigh. "Wow, that's it? Why didn't you say so before? You're talking to the world's greatest flirt right here," he said proudly with a broad smile.

"Hah," said Tifa.

Ignoring her, Zack slung an arm around Cloud's shoulders, ruffling his spikes affectionately. "Don't worry, Spikey," he said, "you're in good hands. Seph will be yours in no time."

Cloud cringed.

* * *

Later that night—morning, Cloud noted as he glanced at the clock, the faint glow reading 3:34—he thought about the state of his life, particularly as it pertained to Sephiroth.

_Sephiroth_. Even his name was irresistible. "Sephiroooooth," he whispered to himself in the silence, drawing out the last syllable. Cloud smiled, loving the way it rolled off his tongue. He stared mindlessly into the dark for a while, thinking about Sephiroth and how wonderful he was.

It wasn't that he couldn't talk to the man; Cloud had no problem asking him what measure they were on when he lost his place, too busy staring at Sephiroth to notice when his measures of rest were over. He had no problem letting the man know he'd done a good job mastering that difficult section, or telling him which parts sounded like they could use some work.

No, the true difficulty was in taking their conversations that crucial step further, past business and into easy friendship, into a relationship, and eventually, into bed.

Cloud turned over, punching the pillow under his head in frustration. He was absolutely terrible at making friends, let alone getting a date. There was no way in hell he even had a chance at Sephiroth.

"And besides," grumbled Cloud quietly, "he's probably already got a boyfriend." Oh, Cloud had no doubt the man was gay. Even if he wasn't, Cloud highly doubted any woman in the world could stand to date a man who took longer than she did on his hair anyway. He'd be gay by necessity.

Sprawling himself across his bed and tangled between the sheets and the comforter, Cloud tried to get some sleep, desperately wishing he could get the silver-haired god out of his mind. It was a lost cause, and he was losing brain cells, not to mention sleep, over it. He scoffed. _Zack doesn't even know what he's getting himself into_, he thought.

* * *

The next morning hit Cloud like a cast iron frying pan to the face. Lazily rolling in his sleep, he threw an arm around the pillow, hugging it tight to his chest. The sun peeked through his blinds, threatening to flood his room with light, but he ignored it.

That was, he ignored it until his alarm clock went off for the fifth time, letting him know he was officially an hour late for practice.

"Shit!" He leapt out of the bed like it was on fire, dashing around the room and getting dressed in record time. Hastily throwing on a button down shirt, he tried to brush his teeth, put on pants at the same time, and head out his bedroom door at the same time. Let it be said that Cloud was not known for being at the top of his mental game at nine in the morning.

With a series of loud bangs and curses, he tumbled down the staircase that he had conveniently forgotten was there, arriving at the bottom in a messy heap.

"Tifa, look," said Marlene, one of the two little orphans who lived with Cloud and Tifa, "Cloud's awake!" She covered her mouth with her hands and giggled.

"I can see that," murmured Tifa. She placed a plate of breakfast in front of Denzel and Marlene, and then turned to inspect the groaning blond.

Cloud stood up carefully, cradling the back of his head. "Oww—argh," he coughed, dislodging his toothbrush from his throat with a slight gag. "Nnngh."

"And good morning to you, too," said Tifa pleasantly. "Aren't you late for something, young man?"

"Oh, yeah, stick it in my face," grumbled Cloud, fixing his pants and doing the button hastily, "especially since you were so _kind_ to wake me up on time."

Denzel and Marlene giggled, used to Cloud's antics. Cloud growled, snitching a piece of toast off each of their plates in revenge. They squealed in protest, until Cloud gave them each a giant hug in apology.

"Here," said Tifa, handing him a bag over the bar top. "I packed your flute and your music for you."

Cloud graciously accepted his bag with a nod. "Thanks," he said. "I'll see you guys later, alright?"

"Bye, Cloud," Marlene and Denzel chorused as Cloud waved at them through the door. Tifa came around the bar, watching from the front window of the bar as Cloud straddled his motorcycle and sped off.

"Oh, Cloud," said Tifa with a smile.

* * *

Cloud silently made his way into the theatre, hoping to make his late entrance as inconspicuous as possible. No such luck.

"Mr. Strife," called out conductor Rufus Shinra, bringing the entire orchestra to silence as the blond entered the room. His voiced echoed and carried in the dynamically perfect room, and Cloud could feel the weight of everyone's stares on him.

"Uh…director. Mr. Shinra. Sir," Cloud stumbled over his words as he hurried to answer the man. "I'm sorry—"

"That is exactly right, Mr. Strife," interrupted Rufus in a drawling tone. "You are nothing more than a sorry excuse for a first chair flautist. Take your seat immediately, unless you intend on wasting even more of everyone's time."

Cloud bowed his head, blushing furiously. "Yes, sir," he mumbled, making his way to his seat. He quickly placed his music on the stand, glancing at the stand next to him to find the right song. The silence seemed deafening as he put together his flute, the metal sliding against metal and making tinny clinking noises.

He held his flute on his lap when he was finished, looking to the director for the start of the song. "Tune," said Rufus sharply. "You're late as it is; I won't have you fucking up the songs because you sound like an asphyxiating canary."

Cloud blushed again, glancing across the way to see Sephiroth's reaction. Yes, the self-same Sephiroth who, as the pianist, sat behind a grand piano directly across from Cloud's position. The very Sephiroth who was, at this moment, waiting and staring with a raised eyebrow for him to play his note.

"Oh," said Cloud softly, before playing a B flat, loud, clear, and unwavering. Sephiroth matched the pitch, and the two sounds blended together perfectly. Cloud couldn't help but smirk to himself. _I'm always in tune_, he thought.

Tapping his baton against the stand, Rufus garnered the attention of the orchestra. "Beautiful. Now, to play the other 1,495 notes," he said sardonically.

* * *

By the end of the eight-hour rehearsal, everyone was exhausted and wanted nothing more than to kill each other, or kill themselves. "Nooooo mooooore," groaned Cloud melodramatically to the delicate girl who sat two seats down from him, a good friend of his.

She giggled. "Yet I can be sure to see you tomorrow, right?" Aerith gave him a meaningful glance as she packed away her piccolo.

Cloud looked over to where his silver-haired crush stood talking with the director near the piano. Sephiroth looked over in Cloud's direction, catching his eye sharply before looking away again. The blond sighed softly.

"He's just so perfect, Aer," he said breathily. "He's a musical genius with a body sculpted by the gods themselves. _And_ he has sexy hair. He just can't be beat."

"Yo, if you're talking about Sephy over there, I totally second that," interjected Reno, the last member of the flute section. The brash redhead was constantly pushing his way into Cloud's conversations, and the blond was not amused.

"Seriously, if I wasn't already dating his younger brother, I'd hit that in a heartbeat, yo," Reno added, nodding for good measure.

"Back off, he's mine," growled Cloud, staring at Sephiroth again.

Reno held up his hands in surrender. "Hey, I already snagged one, yo. And besides," he muttered, "it's not like you're making a move anytime soon."

"Hey," said Cloud, whirling on him, "I'm gonna make a move soon, just…watch." He slung his bag over his shoulder and crossed his arms. He would make a move, just…maybe not as soon as he would like. _Never sounds nice this time of year_, he thought sarcastically.

"Right, Cloud," said Aerith, "we'll be watching for centuries." Cloud rolled his eyes and pouted. Why did she always have to say what he was thinking? Aerith might have been one of his closest friends, but she was way too intuitive for his comfort level.

But he said nothing. They were right, anyway, so why argue? "Whatever," he grumbled, turning to leave. "I'm gonna head out now. If I spend one more minute in this place, I swear, I'll…"

Aerith looked up when Cloud didn't finish his sentence. "Cloud?" She asked worriedly, following the blond's line of sight, and then she sighed resignedly.

For the only thing that could possibly earn a complete fixation of Cloud's gaze was…

"Cloud," said Sephiroth in that irresistible baritone.

Cloud tried very, very hard not to faint.

* * *

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own any of these characters, just the situations they're in. ^^

Obviously: AU, OOC, yaoi, and all the rest


	2. The Pianist's Lament

A/N: Thank you so much to all the people who reviewed/fav'd/alerted this story! (And only after the first chapter, too!): Utena-Puchiko-nyu, LazyLamia, Tobi-Uchiha, Night's Mirth, Cuddlebug, luminousSpark, mingchan06, chanson des ombres, a fool's paradise

I always write thinking no one will ever even read it, and then people like you come along and surprise me! It really brings a smile to my face. ^^

This chapter, by the way, nearly gave me a heart attack. I almost lost the entire thing, but I was able to get back most of it because I had saved it in another document. I had to rewrite almost the entire last page, though. . But it's here, and that's what counts!

Now, on with the show!

* * *

It wasn't very often that Sephiroth Crescent felt the desire to interact with people other than those necessary. There was his youngest brother Kadaj, sixteen years old but forced to live with his brother due to the death of their parents. Even though Kadaj could get bratty at times and often tried the very last of his patience, Sephiroth spoke to him on a nearly daily basis, as was necessary.

Then there were Yazoo and Loz, Yazoo being the younger of the two middle siblings. Loz, who lived a couple hours away, he spoke with often enough to know the man was healthy and well, with a wife and son. Yazoo prattled to him enough for Sephiroth to learn how to tune the man out without getting reprimanded for not listening, as was necessary.

And Reno, he learned to talk to Reno to make sure his little Yazoo was being treated the right way by his darling of a boyfriend. Also, there were the occasional threats of death, castration, and/or disembowelment, as was necessary.

Genesis Rhapsodos, Angeal Hewley, and Vincent Valentine had all earned themselves the privilege of friendship, and therefore the blessing of his conversation, however brief it might be. But Sephiroth still considered them friends, and as such, found himself in their company as was necessary.

Then came along Cloud Strife, and Sephiroth suddenly found himself making excuses to talk to, see, or even simply be around the blond man, completely _un_necessarily.

Hence, his current situation.

"Cloud," he repeated as the pale blond simply stood there.

He blinked once, and then finally replied. "Sephiroth," he said.

"I need to speak with you," Sephiroth continued. He glanced behind Cloud, looking over Reno and Aerith in turn.

Cloud followed his gaze, nodding. "Alright," he said.

Sephiroth promptly turned on his heel, leading Cloud over behind the piano, where they would have at least some modicum of privacy. "I was just speaking with the director," he began, carefully gauging the other's reaction.

Cloud stood with his arms crossed, staring nonchalantly at Sephiroth's face. "Yes," said Cloud.

Inwardly, Sephiroth cringed. For all his fair looks and soft, pretty hair, the blond was colder than a block of dry ice. It infuriated and aroused him at the same time. Sephiroth was not used to being denied the things and people he wanted.

"First, I would like to complement you on how well you played the allegro section today," he said. "The director was impressed."

All he received was a nod to show that Cloud was listening. The blond shifted from side to side and glanced over to where people were slowly leaving the theatre.

"Second, why were you late to practice today? You are usually very punctual," Sephiroth said, trying to recapture Cloud's attention. He also wished to know why he had been deprived for nearly two hours of his fair-haired muse.

The flautist blushed lightly, and Sephiroth held his hands firmly clasped behind his back. Much as he would have liked to, he did not think that physically assaulting the man was the correct way to garner his affections.

"I overslept," said Cloud tonelessly, glancing to the side again. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. This would not do at all…

"Thirdly, I would like to schedule a private practice between the two of us to fine tune the fugue duet," he said sharply.

Cloud furrowed his brows, his eyes snapping to Sephiroth's face. "What?"

Ah, now he had his attention. "Mr. Shinra thinks it would be beneficial if we practiced it together, away from the group," Sephiroth continued. So what if Rufus hadn't _actually_ asked him to schedule a private rehearsal? Cloud would never find out about the lie, if he had his way, and he would have to chance to finally capture his unwilling prey.

The panicked look faded from Cloud's eyes, to be replaced by the usual apathetic expression. "Oh," he said, "I see. When?"

Sephiroth had been hoping for more of a reaction, but he knew how to take his victories where he could. "Do you mind if we practice later today? Around six o' clock," he asked.

Cloud shrugged. "Alright," he said. "At the theatre?"

Sephiroth had a moment of internal panic, but quickly covered with a smooth lie. "No," he said, "there is an event at the theatre tonight. We can practice at my apartment." He hoped that Cloud would take the lie…

He did. "Okay," agreed Cloud reluctantly. "Do you have a paper to write down your address on?"

Sephiroth didn't want to seem like a stalker, but he already knew where Cloud lived, on the top floor of Seventh Heaven (an appropriate place, he thought himself, for his blond angel), and wouldn't have minded picking Cloud up. He didn't venture out to the place much, but his brother Yazoo did, following along with Reno whenever he went to visit the blond.

"Mr. Shinra told me you live on the top floor of Seventh Heaven, correct? I'll come pick you up at six," he lied again, hoping it didn't come out as strange to Cloud.

He nodded absently. "Alright, I'll see you then," Cloud said, turning away to gather his instrument and music. Sephiroth sat on the piano bench and watched as he moved with lithe grace, like a panther sneaking through the night, full of hidden passion that only…

_Oh, great_, thought Sephiroth, _now I'm waxing on poetic with my descriptions._ He sighed, pulling down the lid over the piano keys, and leaving the theatre only after everyone else had gone.

* * *

"Kadaj, I'm home," he called out upon entering the expansive apartment. Sephiroth toed off his shoes at the front door, wondering mildly where his brother was. He very well couldn't have the little demon causing chaos when Cloud came over.

"Kadaj," he called out again, checking in the kitchen. No Kadaj.

Frowning, Sephiroth went to the boy's room. He tried the doorknob, only to find it locked. "Kadaj," he said threateningly, "if you do not open this door in the next five seconds, I will break both the door and your arm."

Sephiroth counted slowly in his head, and surely enough, the door unlocked. He stepped inside, finding the petulant sixteen-year-old lounging on his bed, headphones haphazardly placed over his ears and blasting rock music. "Hello, brother," he said spitefully.

"I'm having company over later," said Sephiroth, ignoring the greeting. "I expect you to be polite, or else maintain your distance."

"Can I go out with Reno and Yazoo?" Kadaj slipped his headphones off his ears, waiting hopefully for a positive reply.

Sephiroth sighed. The pair was a bad influence, but at least they would keep him safe. "Fine," he said, "as long as you're not interfering with me."

Kadaj smirked. "What, you've finally managed to get a date? I probably could have gotten him in half the time," he shouted as Sephiroth merely left the room.

The apartment itself really needed no fixing up; Sephiroth was a very orderly man by nature, and, luckily, Kadaj had picked up on that trait. He crossed the den to the other side of the apartment, where his music room was located, the one blissfully soundproof room in the space. A smile slipped onto his face as he entered the room and sat behind the baby grand.

As his fingers automatically splayed out over the keys, he was reminded of the night before, when he'd startled Cloud after his playing. He hadn't meant to; in fact, he would have invited the blond to stay and listen, if he hadn't run off so quickly.

Music started to fill the air as Sephiroth continued to wonder. What was it about Cloud that transfixed him so? Was it the immeasurably soft hair that just begged to have fingers run through it? Or was it the delicate yet strong features of his face that made him look like a precious china doll? The watery, crystal blue eyes haunted his dreams, his long, slender fingers ghosting over his skin a thousand times.

All Sephiroth knew was that he wanted—no, _needed_ to have Cloud as his own. Ever since he first laid eyes on his bewitching countenance three weeks ago, he couldn't get the man out of his head. Not only was he gorgeous, but he played the flute so beautifully, like faeries dancing in the rain.

Sephiroth paused in his playing. "Faeries in the _rain_," he muttered derisively to himself. "I need to get laid."

"You also need to go pick up said lay," commented Kadaj, leaning casually against the door frame.

Sephiroth turned to the boy. "I thought I told you not to disturb me when I'm in here," he said calmly with a hint of anger.

"I know," said Kadaj airily, "but I figured since you apparently really need to get laid, you'd appreciate it if I told you it's already five-twenty. What's his name, by the way?"

Sephiroth glanced at his own watch to see that is was, indeed, only a few minutes away from five-thirty. "Cloud," he said as he quickly brushed past Kadaj, grabbing his coat and shoes on the way, and disappeared out the front door.

"Cloud," repeated Kadaj after he had left. "What a dumb name.

* * *

He was about halfway to Seventh Heaven when his cell phone rang. Briefly, Sephiroth debated letting it ring itself to silence, but then considered that if one of the few people who actually had his number was bothering to call him, it must have been important. Grabbing the device from his pocket, he answered with a bored, "Hello?"

"Seph? Hey, it's Genesis. Listen, me and Angeal are going out tonight, and we were wondering if you wanted to come," he said, "you know, get your mind off that Cloud for a bit."

Sephiroth chuckled. If only they knew… "I'm sorry, Genesis, I'm going to have to decline," he said.

"What? Why? Come on, Seph, live a little," the brunet complained. "I'm sure you have nothing better to do anyway."

"Actually," said Sephiroth slowly, a smile crossing his face.

He heard Genesis gasp. "No way," he whispered. "You totally scored with Cloud!"

"Don't get your hopes up that high, Gen," said Sephiroth, frowning a little. Hopefully in the future, Genesis' assumptions would be a reality. "I only managed to trick him into coming over to my apartment for an extra rehearsal. I'm on my way to pick him up right now."

"Extra rehearsal, right," scoffed Genesis. "He's gonna be getting practice in _some_thing, that's for sure."

"Seriously, Gen," said Sephiroth. "I'm still trying to get him to open up, remember? He barely even looks at me when I'm talking to him."

Genesis snickered. "Oh, yeah," he said through his laughs, "he'll be opening up to you in no time."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes as his friend broke into full-fledged laughter. "I'm hanging up, Genesis," he said. "Give Angeal my regards."

"Will do. Have fun, Sephy," said Genesis before hanging up.

Sephiroth sighed and, having reached his destination, pulled into the parking lot of the bar. He turned the car off, sitting in the silence for a while. _If only_, he thought to himself. Then he checked the time and left his car, ready to put his plan into motion, only one thought in his head.

He really, _really_ needed to get laid.


	3. Duet con Trio: Part One

A/N: Thank you for all the reviews/favs/alerts: MaskedScissorDoll, Cinnamon Heart, Alec Shields, Touzokuou, Lone Valentine, HazySkies, Rethira, Kasai Oni Urufu, Numbat, forgottenidol, Green Paradox, Qseued, 20eKUraN08, scarlettHuntress

Also, thanks to MaskedScissorDoll for adding this story to the community Final Fantasy VII Yaoi Worth Reading!

Now, on with the show!

* * *

Cloud Strife was a dead man walking. He could practically see Tifa and Zack in mourning, see the closed casket being lowered into the ground, hear the miserable funeral bells tolling.

…Or maybe that last one was just the cheerful jingle of the bell over the door as he trudged through the front entrance of Seventh Heaven. Who knew? He didn't, not in his mental state.

Slumping to the ground with no amount of grace, Cloud called out, "I'm doomed," to anyone within earshot. "I am so doomed." He leaned his head against the door and closed his eyes. On the outside, he appeared calm, but on the inside, he was screaming and crying like that was his sole purpose in life.

_WHY?! How? I despise you, Rufus Shinra,_ he shouted silently to himself. Of all the despicable things the director could have done, Cloud decided this was most definitely beyond the worst.

He banged his head slowly against the door as the full implications of what would happen hit him. Again. He would be alone with Sephiroth in his apartment for an undetermined amount of time. Alone with a veritable god whose music was capable of inducing instantaneous orgasms. Alone with the man of his dreams and absolutely no social skills to handle the situation. Alone with his uncontrollable lust and tendency to make situations very awkward and uncomfortable.

He would be lucky if Sephiroth even looked at him after tonight.

Cloud groaned in anguish, resting his elbows on his knees. His usual calm, collected attitude didn't save him this time; as a matter of fact, it might have made things even worse. When Sephiroth was talking to him, he couldn't help but keep glancing over to the door, eager to be away from temptation. _The man probably thought I couldn't stand to be near him or something_, thought Cloud sadly. _Great. Makes this evening all the merrier._ In his desire to seem unaffected, he hadn't even tried to protest the scheduled rehearsal. Even worse, Sephiroth knew where he lived, and was coming to pick him up!

Cloud gasped as this new development hit him. What if Sephiroth lived far from here? What if he had to spend an entire _hour_ in a car with him? "Oh, gods," he moaned.

He sat there for a while, musing on various ways he could get out of the practice, ranging from faking illness, to an elaborate plot involving a Columbian drug trafficking scheme. "I'm sure Zack wouldn't mind playing the part of the dealer, and I could be his unwilling hostage," he muttered.

Something cool and sweaty slapped against his forehead. Cloud crossed his eyes trying to see who or what it was, and fell over sideways from the effort. "Ugh," he said, not bothering to move.

"Denzel! I'm telling on you! Tifa, Denzel killed Cloud," Marlene shouted. Cloud heard the pattering of her feet up the stairs as the girl ran to fetch Tifa.

"Did not! Marleeeeene," howled Denzel, racing behind her. "Tifa, I didn't kill Cloud, I swear! He was like that when we found him."

Tifa met the pair halfway down the stairs, scooping Marlene into her arms. "Okay, guys, what's the problem?"

Marlene quickly pointed towards the door, where Cloud still lay slumped over on the ground. "Cloud's dead," she said simply.

Tifa frowned, her eyebrows drawn together. Putting Marlene back on the ground, she worriedly made her way over to the blond. "Cloud," she said gently, kneeling next to him and shaking his shoulder.

"Ngh," said the incomprehensible man, cracking open a single eye to stare dolefully at Tifa.

Tifa pursed her lips, suppressing a smile. "What's got you down this time, Cloud?" she asked.

"Everything," he responded desolately. "The whole world is conspiring against me, and I am powerless to fight back." He draped an arm across his eyes for dramatic effect.

The brunet woman turned to Marlene and Denzel. "You two can go back to playing," she said with a grin. "I'll handle this one."

Marlene and Denzel nodded, and scampered off to a room behind the bar. Tifa fixed her attention back on Cloud. "Okay, Cloud," she said, settling down for a long conversation, "what's going on?"

Cloud sighed. "HaftogooverSephroth'splaceforrehearsalt'night," he hastily mumbled.

Tifa cupped a hand around her ear. "What was that, Cloud? I'm not sure I—"

"I said, I have to go over to Sephiroth's place for rehearsal tonight," he said in a loud voice, moving his arm so he could aim a proper glare at Tifa.

"But that—that's great," she said happily. "You finally got a date with Sephiroth!"

Cloud winced. He'd been trying to avoid that word. "I'd hardly call it a date, Tif," he grumbled, "more like the evil machinations of one Rufus Shinra. Sephiroth said that Rufus wanted us to get some extra practice in, just the two of us, to work on our duet section."

Tifa shook her head. "Does it really matter? You're going to be alone! With Sephiroth," she said eagerly.

"Don't reminds me," grumbled Cloud.

"This is your chance to use some moves," she continued. "You can—"

"What _moves_, Tifa? You and I both know I'm completely inept at this sort of thing!" He threw his arms over his eyes once more in despair.

Tifa pouted. She had not worked on getting Cloud out of his shell for all those years, only to have him fall apart at the slightest challenge. She stood up, placing her fisted hands on her hips. "Cloud Strife," she said in a commanding tone, "if you do not get your sorry, brooding ass off my floor this instant, I swear I'll kick it from here to the North Crater!"

Cloud considered this threat. He didn't doubt that she could do it; no, he was certain of that. The question was… "If I'm at the North Crater," he thought out loud, "then Sephiroth can't pick me up for rehearsal tonight—hey!"

"I've had enough of your nonsense," said Tifa as she grabbed the blond by his leg, dragging him through the bar.

"Hey—hey! Ow! Tifa, that was my _head_! Tif—watch it! You can't—Tifa, those are _stairs_!"

Tifa glanced back at him. "You and me got some preparing to do, mister," she said ominously.

Cloud had a sinking feeling that if Rufus Shinra was evil, then Tifa was the devil herself.

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, a happily smiling Tifa was cleaning up the bar in preparation for the Saturday night crowd. Smiling, because she had managed to get Cloud at least a little bit excited. Smiling, because she had instilled at least a little bit of confidence in the blond. Smiling, because being there for her best friend was what she loved most and did best.

Smiling, because whether he wanted to or not, Cloud was going to look ridiculously sexy on his date—"rehearsal," as he insisted she call it.

Giggling to herself, she recalled the outfit she picked for him: black cargo pants that rested low on his hips, coupled with a black wifebeater to show off his biceps, and a leather jacket—just in case he got cold.

"If only he weren't so completely gay," Tifa sighed, glancing upward.

Suddenly, the door to the bar burst open with a loud bang. "Ohmigosh, _Tifa_," said one rather excited Zack, pausing in doorway for dramatic effect. "You will _never_ guess what I just found out."

"Cloud isn't as gay as he seems?" Tifa ventured.

Zack did a double take. "_What?_ But that would ruin all of my plans," he complained with a pout.

The brunet woman mentally smacked herself in the forehead. _Rule number one, never supply Zack with obviously false information._ "Never mind," she said, "just some wishful thinking. What's your big news?"

He regained his line of thinking at this, hastily making his way to sit at the bar. "Okay," he started eagerly, "so you know me and Angeal are, like, best buddies? And how we always—" he rolled his eyes at the glance Tifa threw his way—"okay, _almost_ always tell each other everything?"

Tifa nodded, scared to know where this was going.

"Well. Apparently, he's been holding out on me," continued Zack. "So, it's me and Aer at the shop. She's helping a customer, and I'm sitting looking pretty. Looking pretty and being bored. So I call up Angeal for a bit of stimulating conversation, right? We get past the usual courtesies, and then I'm like, 'So you remember Cloud? You met him once or twice.' And Angie's like, 'Yes, spiky blond hair, I remember him. What about him?' And I was like—hey, stop laughing."

Tifa couldn't help but chuckle at Zack's impression of his friend. "I'm sorry, go on," she said, smothering her laughter behind her hand.

"Hmph," said Zack haughtily. "I'd like to see you do better. Anyway, I was like, 'Yeah, he's got this massive crush on this guy, Sephiroth, but he doesn't know what to do about it, 'cause he can't flirt for his life,' And then Angeal interrupts me, like, 'Wait. Did you just say Cloud has a crush on Sephiroth?' And I'm like, 'Yeah, Angeal, aren't you listening? Cloud is practically in love with the man—and with good reason, too, the guy's _gorgeous_—' And then Angeal starts laughing at me, can you believe it?"

Tifa didn't even have the chance to respond as Zack plunged forward with his story. "Anyway, then I was like, 'It's not _that_ funny, Angeal.' And he was like, 'Yes, it is. Because Sephiroth just so happens to have a crush on Cloud.' And then my jaw dropped. I remember that because half a minute later, Angeal was like, 'Zack? Are you still there?' So then I said, 'Yeah, yeah. _You_ know _Sephiroth_?' And Angeal—get this—Angeal says, 'Of course, he's one of my best friends.' And I said, 'No. Way.' And he said, 'Yes, Zack.'

Zack, wide-eyed and incredulous, paused for breath to see Tifa's reaction. The bartender merely stood with one eyebrow raised. "Go on," she said.

"So of course I had to ask, 'So does Sephiroth like Cloud back?' And Angeal says, 'I don't think I should tell you that, Zack.' Can you believe he said that? To me? His best friend? _I_ couldn't believe it. So I was like, 'Oh, come on, Angeal, puh-leeeeeeeeeeeease?' And of course, he couldn't resist, and was like, 'Oh, alright. Sephiroth is madly attracted to Cloud, but thinks that Cloud hates him and is completely disinterested.' So then _I_ was like, 'Oh. My. Gosh. Cloud is madly attracted to _Sephiroth_ but thinks that Sephiroth hates _him_ and is completely disinterested!' That was when I got really silent and started doing a lot of thinking—"

"Oh, boy," muttered Tifa, "I knew this couldn't end well."

"—and I jumped up and said, 'I have to go Angeal,' and Angeal said, 'No. You are not going to go tell Cloud, nor am I telling Sephiroth. Neither of us is interfering in this, or else I'm telling Aerith it was all your fault when disaster strikes.' I couldn't really argue with that, so I lied and said, 'Fine, but I still have to go. We've got some customers now. See you later.' And then we hung up, and I sat and plotted, and this—" He held up a small plastic bag. "—this is what I came up with."

Tifa eyed the bag warily. "So let me get this straight," she said, crossing her arms, "Angeal knows Sephiroth and has confirmed that Sephiroth likes Cloud. Cloud likes Sephiroth, but at the moment, does not know that Sephiroth is interested in him. You want to go tell Cloud that Sephiroth likes him to make him panic even more, thereby solving which problem?"

Zack rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to tell Cloud," he said exasperatedly, as if Tifa should have known that already. "This is even better. Just look in the bag." He pushed the bag over the counter.

Tifa reached inside, pulling out a black case. Opening it, she found something that looked like an earpiece. "What the hell is this, Zack? A new pair of headphones?"

Zack shook his head. "This," he said, "is the secret earpiece through which I will personally give Cloud directions while he's on his date with Sephiroth."

Tifa placed a hand on her hip. She hadn't even told him about that night yet. "What date would that be, Zack?" she asked.

"The one I'm going to set Cloud up on," said Zack confidently with a nod.

"Well, Sephiroth beat you to the punch, I'm afraid," she informed him. "Cloud's got a private rehearsal with him tonight, and Sephiroth will be here to pick him up in about twenty minutes."

Zack stood up abruptly. "WHAT?! Then I've got to go put this on him now!" He hastily moved to run up the stairs, but stopped short when he saw the very person he was looking for.

"Put what on him?" asked Cloud cautiously, making his way down the stairs.

"Cloud," said Zack, trying to beat Tifa to the explanation. "So, we're best friends, right?"

Cloud nodded slowly.

"And you would trust me with your life, right?"

Cloud nodded again. "Why, am I being required to do so in the near future?"

"If you go with his plan, you are," commented Tifa.

Zack flipped Tifa off and shook his head. "No, but what if I told you there was a way to make sure you don't mess up on your date tonight?"

Cloud blanched. "First of all, it's not a date," he mumbled hurriedly, taking a seat at the bar.

Zack snorted, turning around to face Cloud. "Yeah, sure, that explains why you're dressed all sexy like that," he said, waggling his eyebrows.

The blond blushed and glared at Tifa. "Second of all, I did not choose this outfit, and thirdly, there's nothing in the world that could keep me from making a fool of myself tonight," he said pointedly.

"Oh, but there is," said Zack happily, fisting his hands on his hips and puffing his chest out like a super-hero. "Me."

"Oh, that's rich," laughed Tifa, polishing a glass, "Zachary Fair, _preventing_ foolish behavior.

Zack stuck his tongue out at Tifa and blew a raspberry. "I am not that foolish, Ti-_fa_," he whined.

Cloud snorted, snickered, and then burst into full-fledged laughter. "Okay, Zack, then let me just stick you in my pocket and carry you around with me," he said.

"Not in your pocket, dear Cloud, in your ear," explained Zack, showing him the flesh-colored earpiece. "You put this in one ear, and stick this in your other—there's a video camera in the earring—and I'll be able to guide you through everything that happens."

Cloud raised an eyebrow at the two devices. "Zack," he said slowly, "I'm not stupid. I've seen virtually every movie in which this type of plot is employed, courtesy of you. It will never work."

Zack closed his eyes and shook his head. "But the people in the movies didn't have _me_ behind the scenes," he said, eager to reassure Cloud. "Trust me, Cloud. I'm your best friend. I would never lead you astray." He stared at the blond with pleading eyes.

Cloud glanced between Zack and Tifa. "Tifa," he started to say.

Tifa closed her eyes and held her hands up in surrender. "Zack's always had your back, hasn't he? I say, and I know I may regret this later, but trust him on this one," she said gently.

Cloud sighed. "Alright, then," he said, "wire me up."

Zack beamed. Minutes later, Cloud successfully had a video camera/earring in his left ear, a fully functional and tested ear piece in his right, and every certainty in his mind that this would only end in disaster. And that's when Sephiroth walked through the door.


	4. Duet con Trio: Part Two

A/N: After a (very) long wait, the next chapter is here! For anybody who started reading this, I've changed my penname from The-Written-Rhapsody to Katana Black. Just so ya know. And without further interruption--Duet con Trio, Pt. 2!

* * *

Sephiroth checked himself one last time before entering the bar, pushing a stray piece of hair behind his ear. "Hello," he said by way of greeting.

Cloud, Tifa, and Zack all turned towards the tinkling bell and Sephiroth's deep voice. "Hi," said Tifa, speaking first when the two men remained silent. "Welcome to Seventh Heaven. Can I get you something to drink?"

Sephiroth shook his head. There was no way he'd let alcohol lower his inhibitions around Cloud. _Especially when he looks like that,_ he thought to himself, giving Cloud an appreciative once-over. "Thank you for the offer," he said graciously. "Cloud, are you ready?"

Zack glanced at his friend to see his reply, and frowned to see Cloud's customary blank expression plastered across his face. He sighed. _Looks like I've got a lot of work to do_, he mused.

Cloud was just praying that he'd make it to the car without incident. _For the love of everything holy, there's no way I'm going to survive this,_ he whimpered in his mind. "Yeah," he said tonelessly, grabbing his music bag from the counter, "let's mosey."

* * *

He followed after the silver-haired god, trying to keep his eyes above Sephiroth's waist, but failing miserably. He just couldn't keep his focus off the way the silver ponytail sashayed from left to right in perfect unison with the man's hips. Cloud groaned softly as he thought about how difficult the next few hours would be, and suddenly heard Zack's voice in his ear.

"Amen," he said, and Cloud could hear Tifa giggling in the background.

"For the love of everything holy," muttered Cloud, "will you _please_ shut up?"

Sephiroth glanced back at him, and Cloud hastily mustered up a half smile. _Great_, he thought, _not even in the car yet, and he thinks I'm a nut._

As they stopped beside Sephiroth's car, Cloud was temporarily jarred out of his state of panic in order to fully appreciate the dark green machine. Whistling lowly, he remarked, "Nice car."

Sephiroth looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "Thank you," he said in a slow drawl, and Cloud felt himself blushing again.

"I—I mean, it's a Jaguar XKR, right? The latest model," he stuttered.

Sephiroth lowered himself into the car, and Cloud did the same, marveling at the fact that he was actually sitting in a Jaguar, nevermind _Sephiroth's_ Jaguar. He thought about that for a moment, and very nearly came in his pants.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Sephiroth looking at him. Embarrassed, Cloud snuck a quick peek downwards before answering, "I'm sorry, what?"

Sephiroth started the car and pulled out of the lot. "I said, yes, it is, and then I asked if you are a car aficionado," he stated.

"Cloud, this is very important. I want you to take that, and run with it," said Zack urgently in Cloud's ear. "Run like you just saw me n' Tifa doin' it on the bar at Seventh Heaven."

"Eww! Zack, that's gross," yelled Tifa, and Cloud felt rather inclined to agree, if the tiny bit of throw up in his mouth served any indication.

"Um, yeah," Cloud finally said aloud. "Cars—anything with an engine, really, they're my passion. I work in a mechanic shop, and I customized my motorcycle myself. With some help, of course, but mostly it was me. I could tell you pretty much anything about any car, no matter the make or model," he finished proudly, still blushing a little.

"Really," said Sephiroth, raising an eyebrow, "then tell me about my car."

"What do you want to know about it?" Cloud boldly challenged, and then wondered immediately if he'd gone too far.

"Transmission," said Sephiroth calmly.

"6 speed automatic," Cloud replied with no hesitation.

"Engine type."

"Supercharged AJ-V8 Gen III direct-injection."

"Layout."

"Front engine, rear wheel drive."

"Zero to sixty."

"4.6 seconds."

"Body type."

"2 door, 2 seat GT coupe."

At this point, Cloud figured that if the rest of the night's conversation was this easy, he should have talked to Sephiroth ages ago. He heard Zack laughing in his ear, and knew the blue-eyed brunet had thought the exact same thing.

Sephiroth looked to him with narrowed eyes. "Displacement, horsepower, and torque," he said quietly.

"5 liters, 510 bhp, and 461 ft.-lb.," he replied easily. "Do you really doubt me?"

Sephiroth smiled and shook his head. "No, I actually find it rather refreshing," he said, and Cloud's blush returned.

"Oh," he said simply, too much in awe to say anything else. Sephiroth? Finding him refreshing? Dear goddess, what had the world come to?

As the car fell prey to a parasitic silence that made Cloud more nervous with each passing moment, Zack came to the rescue. "As him where he lives," he said partly out of curiosity, partly because Cloud needed to say something, and partly because he wanted to know how long his friend would suffer this particular brand of torture.

"So, uh, where do you live?" Cloud thought his voice sounded like a megaphone in the silence of the car. Not even the radio was playing.

Sephiroth spared him a quick glance before replying, "On the outskirts of Edge. Uptown."

Cloud could hear Zack whistle low in his ear, and couldn't help but agree with the sentiment. Uptown Edge was the most expensive area in the city. Even the shittiest apartments there made a decent house in Central Edge look like a slum. Great. Just what his clumsy ass needed, an expensive apartment to completely destroy.

"That's nice," he murmured, and turned to stare out the window for the remainder of the trip, which proved surprisingly silent.

Back at the bar, Zack carefully covered his microphone before whispering to Tifa, "This is going to be a little harder than I thought."

Tifa glanced towards the ceiling and let out a doleful sigh.

* * *

With each floor they rose, Cloud could feel his heart sink deeper into his stomach. By the time they reached their destination, apartment 11A, the penthouse suite, he was pretty sure his heart had been thoroughly digested by the churning acid in his stomach.

"Wow," said Zack in his ear. "I mean—shit. _Wow_."

And Cloud whole-heartedly concurred. The apartment was decorated in a modern theme, black, white, and silver the prevailing colors. Glass end-tables with black metal frames held lamps designed in abstract shapes, a massive white sofa faced an even bigger flat screen TV hanging on the wall, and if he wasn't mistaken, a set of double doors at the far side of the apartment opened onto spacey balcony.

"You're not helping," growled Cloud lowly still feeling the need to berate his friend, even if he agreed.

Sephiroth glanced back as he held the door open. "What was that?"

"Nothing," Cloud quickly said, following Sephiroth into the apartment. "Nice, um, place."

Taking off his coat and holding out a hand for Cloud's own jacket, he replied without quite meeting the blond's eyes. "Thank you. Would you like something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine," lied Cloud, dropping his bag onto the floor and shrugging out of his jacket. As he handed it to Sephiroth, his fingers brushed against Sephiroth's hand, and he dropped the jacket in shock.

"Sorry," he hastily muttered, bending over quickly to retrieve it. Properly handing over the jacket to Sephiroth, he noticed the man had a severe frown on his face. "Sorry," he repeated, "I'm a little—clumsy, whatever." He tried to arrange his features into a mask of indifference, but had a feeling he was failing miserably.

Sephiroth let out a sigh, but his expression remained unchanged. "I'll go get you something to drink," he said quietly before disappearing into the kitchen.

Cloud was grateful Zack had at least waited until the man had left the room before exclaiming, "Holy _shit_, did you see that? Tif, did you _see_ that?"

The blonde slapped a hand over his ear. "Ow," he complained.

"Of course I saw it, Zack, I'm staring at the same screen you are, silly," replied Tifa.

Cloud hear Zack whooping in the background. "Way to go Spiky! Nice move there," he congratulated.

Cloud moved as far away from the kitchen as he could and checked the door before hissing, "_Move? _What _move_? Now he probably thinks I'm this big, fat, clumsy cow! A big, fat clumsy cow who can't look him in the eye and has serious mental deficiency! What the hell kind of move is that?"

_A move only a cow makes_, a small voice inside his head replied sorrowfully.

He was met with only silence for a few heartbeats as Zack and Tifa exchanged glances. "Well," said Tifa, "you're not fat."

Cloud distinctly felt the pain of any chance he had of attracting Sephiroth being violently torn from his sobbing self. "Hopeless," he muttered desolately, slumping onto the pristine white couch. "Completely hopeless."

"Pardon?"

Cloud's eyes snapped open at the sound of a voice not distorted by technology. "I-I mean, n-nothing," he stammered, heat rising rapidly into his fair cheeks. He looked around the room at anything but Sephiroth's face, trying to save what was left of his dignity.

"Relax," whispered Zack in his ear.

Sephiroth held out a glass of water. "Here," he said.

Cloud accepted the glass, grateful that he didn't see any signs of confusion or amusement on Sephiroth's face, and downed half of it in one gulp. In the back of his head, he wondered mildly if there was any way to drown oneself in a glass filled with three inches of water.

Sephiroth never took his eyes from Cloud's face, and when he was finished with his water, he said, "I suppose we can begin now?"

Hastily wiping a few drops from the corner of his mouth with the back of his hand, Cloud replied, "Yeah, I guess so."

Sephiroth immediately turned around, picked up Cloud's belongings, and made his way to his music room. As he opened the door, he realized Cloud was not behind him and muttered just loud enough for him to hear, "I know I am good, but I cannot play both the flute and piano at the same time, Cloud."

The blond only stared at him like a dazed chocobo, having gone into shock the moment Sephiroth had uttered his name. "Cloud," said Tifa in warning, "move."

Her voice brought him back to his senses, and he hurriedly set the empty glass down on the table, making sure there was a coaster beneath it. "Of course," he mumbled, brushing past Sephiroth into the music room, heart beating so fast he figured his risk for a heart attack just quadrupled.

* * *

Sephiroth silently followed behind the flautist, closing the door behind himself and sliding down onto the bench behind the baby grand piano. "You can sit over there...or stand, if you prefer," he said, motioning towards a music stand set up beside the piano.

"I prefer standing," Cloud murmured, setting his music upon the stand and opening his flute case. He could feel Sephiroth's stare boring holes into the back of his head as he put together his instrument and tried to ignore it. Gods, where was his Cool Attitude when he needed it? Apparently, at home with his Common Sense. _They were probably having tea together with Life the Bitch_, he mused, _stupid, damn, evil..._

"Damn," swore Cloud softly after a few minutes. The soundproof room was reverberating with the sounds of Sephiroth practicing scales and particularly tricky fingerings, so the silveret missed the slight curse.

Zack, however, did not. "What's up?"

"I knew I should have taken a few extra minutes to polish this thing," Cloud muttered. Hastily improvising, he stuck his hand underneath his shirt and began quickly fisting up and down the metal of his head joint.

"Uh—um, okay?" Zack laughed nervously and stuck a hand behind his head. Covering the microphone with the other, he called out, "Yo, Tifa? Is it normal for him to be giving his instrument a hand job?"

Cloud sighed in annoyance. "I heard that," he mumbled. Lifting the joint up to eye level, he glanced at it for a moment before popping the end into his mouth, taking care not to drool into it. After a moment, he pulled it out and started polishing it again.

Sephiroth finished his few minutes and turned around, intent on asking Cloud whether he felt it necessary to tune up, or if he imagined himself some god of perfect pitch, but the sarcastic comment died on his lips as he observed the blond's...awkward behavior. From the way Cloud's back was angled towards him, it honestly looked as if he was...but surely he wouldn't...

"Cloud," Sephiroth stated, rather than asked.

"Yeah," the blond replied distractedly.

"What are you doing," said Sephiroth.

"I'm just—I needed to polish my head," Cloud replied. He popped the metal back in his mouth.

Back at Seventh Heaven, a giant fragment of Zack's soul died. "Please..._please_ tell me you did not just say that," he groaned.

"Wha—...oh, shit," Cloud cussed as the double entendre finally hit him, and he spun around with a wild blush on his face and his head joint in his mouth. "Issh nah—" He quickly pulled the joint from his mouth and tried to explain. "I mean, my head joint, not—it gets stuck if I don't—and it—I needed to—and I didn't have a cloth or anything, so—I just used my shirt—and spit is a lot less messy than oil to keep it—so it goes in easier and doesn't get stuck—" He trailed off as Sephiroth held up a hand to stop him.

"Far be it from me to prevent you from your pre-practice rituals," he drawled, "even those as...strange...as performing fellatio on one's instrument." He let a hint of a smirk slip across his face and then disappear.

Cloud didn't know who he wanted to kill first, Sephiroth or himself.

"Can we just get this done with already," he grumbled, shoving his head joint onto the rest of the flute with a lot more force than needed, wincing and muttering a quick apology to the instrument.

"Hm," said Sephiroth, "very well," and he played a B flat so Cloud could tune, though he really needn't have bothered, because, as usual, when the flautist played his note...

_I'm always in tune_, Cloud thought to himself. "Okay," he said, regaining his composure for the first time since they'd gotten out of the car. "Let's do this."

* * *

Two hours later found one Cloud Strife with his face between one Sephiroth Crescent's legs, with said silveret's hand on the nape of his neck and his caressing voice in his ear, saying, "I think I should take you home now, Cloud."

* * *

A/N: Um, very long awaited, I know, but for some reason, I had less time to write over the summer than I thought. I'll probably be writing more now that school is in session and I have even less free time (go figure). A few notes:

One: The specs on the Jag, I had to look up, but I do know what they all mean. That's what you get when you're the daughter of a mechanic, an obsession with expensive cars and the knowledge that you're most likely never going to get one. ^_~

Two: That whole flute-fellatio business is totally first-hand knowledge. And I know I'm not the only one who apologizes to their instrument when they hit it/use excessive force with it. _

Three: Oh, look at that, a cliff hanger. My bad. :3

To all my reviewers/alerters: Utena-Puchiko-nyu, Qseued, a fool's paradise, Bob Da Peach, scarlettHuntress, Keitsu Han'ei, Rethira, Tobi-Uchiha, Touzokuou, LazyLamia, Dark-Emo13, MoonMage172, Lunar Mistress, earthfire002, AikiaJuniper, DarkBombayAngel, chernevog, Sloveless, 12Ang122, darkroge, kaylakaiba, HikaruWolf, Aenai Ai, Chiyo Javaid, ImmortalInk, SlashnYaoi, IX-tsukuyomi-XI, acerbus321, velvet key, Leigh24, Chibi overload, Eilun, jhanna555, PandaGaaraInsomniac9, flamearrow, EmptyWord, FirstClassAngel, Gabi-Skylar, ghost-alchemist09

THANK YOU, GUYS! It might be crappy, but I'm glad you all stuck around for another chapter. Hope you enjoyed it!


	5. Discordance

Thanks to the following fav/alerts/reviews: velvet key, Tobi-Uchiha, Johnswinona, ghost-alchemist09, Haltia, Utena-Puchiko-nyu, AraelMoonchild, SadandLonelyOne, TheLadyPendragon, LunaNyx, DarkBombayAngel, TheSuperBanana, Dragon's Ghost, Nora Rose Evans, Divanora, Kichou, LazyLamia, Meiyun, maiyr, eMi to mAo 374, Dearest Shadow, FirstClassAngel, Yamiace1321, moondragon1336, Army of Smith, tiktoq2u, Egyptian Neko Thief, is the UltimateXD, Beladera, Dusty 'BDOD' O'Hara, Scooter-XP, and SarissaDiablo!

A/N: Yeah, I know it took a while, and it's a little short, but bear with me—college deadlines loom fast on the horizon. Hope you like this next Sephy-centric chapter!

* * *

_Bang._

He had blown it, completely made an utter _fool_ of himself. Lost any hope of a chance with him.

_Bang._

Had he really been reduced to this, a mere human with a total lack of self-control? Where was the poised, sleek, charismatic sex god he once was?

_Bang_.

It was all over. The best he could wish for was that the incident wouldn't spread through the whole orchestra.

_Bang._

Knowing Kadaj, he probably didn't even have that.

_Bang._

"Jesus Christ, you think you could play something that sounds a little less like a cat strangling itself in your piano strings?"

Sephiroth sighed, his breath fogging up the black surface of the piano where his cheek was pressed and from whence the sounds of a strangling cat were emanating. Kadaj's angry exclamation cut through his despair and moodiness like...like...like the sharp knife of rejection piercing through his soul. He let out another doleful sigh.

"One more sigh, and I swear I'll suffocate you," Kadaj said with a frown, leaning against the doorway of the music room. He had only gotten back a few minutes ago, but it was already two o' clock in the morning. He thought Sephiroth would have been asleep by now; it was a good thing Yazoo and Reno hadn't come up with him.

Sephiroth opened one glassy green eye to stare listlessly at his younger brother, and then closed it, sans sigh.

"I take it your night didn't end well," said Kadaj with a smirk.

Sephiroth didn't respond.

Kadaj shifted around. "I see. Well, maybe if you had consulted with me first about this Cloud, you wouldn't be sulking like a three-year-old child—"

"Like yourself, you mean," Sephiroth hissed angrily, glaring at his brother. Before the teen could retort, Sephiroth cut him off. "Don't even bother. Get out of my room. Now."

Kadaj briefly considered sticking around just to piss Sephiroth off, but decided the man had already had enough.

Sephiroth was grateful when he heard Kadaj leave the music room and shut the door behind him. He was already miserable enough; he didn't need to be in jail on charges of murder as the cherry on top.

Speaking of cherries...Sephiroth groaned as memories of the night came back full force. Things had started out fairly pleasant. He had been genuinely impressed by the blond's enthusiasm for automobiles. He had been anticipating a successful evening, filled with subtle flirting, sly glances, and sexual undertones. Then Cloud threw subtle out the window, and Sephiroth's self control jumped right after. There was no way the little vixen hadn't known what an invitation he presented as he bent over to retrieve his jacket. Luckily, he had been able to make the excuse of getting the blond a drink in order to hide for a few minutes in the kitchen.

Then there had been the blond's blatantly erotic show of drinking the water, head tilted back in careless abandon, the single drop that trickled down the side of his jaw to roll down the smooth column of his neck, the muscles there rippling with each swallow—

Sephiroth banged his head on the piano, regret for the action blossoming almost as immediately as the pain in his forehead. Rising from the bench with a grimace, he finally went to his bedroom for the night (or morning, as it were), locking the door behind himself and flopping onto his bed face down. It had been so embarrassing to be caught staring like that, not to mention his practically permanent state of semi-arousal. _Semi, ha,_ he thought venomously. _If he had so much as coughed, I probably would have come in my pants._ But once again, Fate had seen fit to preserve his dignity for a few moments more, and he made it into the music room.

Until five seconds later, when Fate turned tail and left him alone with a gorgeous man performing obscene sexual acts with his flute.

He briefly considered suffocating himself with his pillow as the scene and the results of the rehearsal thereafter played out in his mind. Okay, so he might have gotten over the initial shock and arousal of seeing Cloud sucking off his head joint with a few sarcastic comments, and he was damn lucky he played the piano and was able to easily hide his erection from Cloud's eyes, and most likely Cloud hadn't noticed the few wrong notes every once and a while or guessed the reason why he kept losing his place, but all of that went to shit when Cloud knocked over his music.

Maybe he could have prevented it. Maybe, if he had been faster, he could have caught the papers before they settled on the ground beneath the piano. But as it was, Cloud seemed to be on a mission and would not have been satisfied until he saw its completion.

_Well, I hope you're satisfied,_ though Sephiroth callously. _You've completely unmanned me._ Because, really, he had frozen solid the moment he realized that Cloud meant to retrieve the papers himself. There was really nothing he could have done, Sephiroth rationalized, as the blond bent over and started gathering his music, the nest of soft spikes begging to be touched, the sliver of pale skin that showed as his shirt rode up, the way he looked so _right_ down on his hands and knees. So really, when Cloud grabbed onto his thigh to help himself up, the blond _really_ should have politely thanked Sephiroth that he hadn't violated him right there over the piano. It was only with his last shred of self-control that he was able to quietly grit out Cloud's name, bringing his attention to the rather obvious problem right beneath his face.

Cloud had only stared at him with his bright, electric blue eyes, lips parted just enough to show the sip of his pink tongue, until Sephiroth, unable to take the wide-eyed stare of shock any longer, suggested he take Cloud home. And if _that_ hadn't been the most awkward, tense, and generally uncomfortable car ride of his life. He wouldn't have been surprised if his car had spontaneously combusted from the sheer amount of friction between them. As they pulled up to Seventh Heaven, Cloud had bolted from the car with nothing but a hastily mumbled _something_-Sephiroth thought it sounded suspiciously like "I'm so sorry,"-and that was the dramatic conclusion to a night entirely ruined. Now he lay in bed, arm draped over his bare chest after having changed into a pair of silk sleep pants, staring up at the ceiling and wondering desperately what type of flowers Cloud liked. At least he could hang onto the hope that tomorrow would undoubtedly be a better day.

* * *

"Sephiroth!" _Thump, THUMP._

"SEPHIROTH!" _Thud, thud. _"SEPH, GET _UP_!"

"_SEPHIROTH!_"

Tiny tendrils of alarm crept through the sleep-drugged haze of Sephiroth's mind, but given that the voice behind the alarm was Kadaj's shrill tone, he was rather inclined to ignore it.

"SEPH!"

"_SEPHIROTH!_" _Bang, BANG._

"_SEPH, YOU DUMBASS, OPEN THE GODDAMNED DOOR!_"

Said dumbass sighed, sorely tempted to pull his pillow over his head. He always forgot how hard Kadaj was to ignore.

With a heavy sigh, he wearily rolled out of bed, pulling away strands of hair that were stuck to his mouth. He stared impassively at his brother as he opened the door and was punched in the chest by Kadaj's wild knocking. Kadaj froze, and then grabbed Sephiroth's wrist, babbling frantically.

"Seph, we need to get out of here now—I can't believe you didn't hear me before, what the hell were you, dead? Or were you just fucking ignoring me?—It doesn't matter anyway, we need—"

"Is that smoke I smell?" Sephiroth cut Kadaj off with a crisp tone, glaring him in the eyes.

Kadaj threw his hands up in exasperation. "YES! That's why we—"

Sephiroth didn't bother listening to the rest of Kadaj's sentence. He shoved the teen out of his way and rushed down the hallway with growing dread as the scent of smoke grew stronger. He almost blacked out at the sight that greeted him.

"My...kitchen," he whimpered softly. The entire corner of the kitchen was on fire, and it was spreading quickly. Even ten feet away, Sephiroth could feel the heat starting to dry out his skin.

Kadaj stood nervously behind Sephiroth. "Ummm...Seph..."

Sephiroth only acknowledged the boy with a soft but deadly, "Why didn't the fire alarm go off?"

"Because I never changed the batteries like you told me to, can we go now?" Kadaj's words spilled out of his mouth like water off a cliff in his haste and panic. He worriedly glanced over Sephiroth's shoulder at the steadily advancing flames, fidgeting as Sephiroth continued to stand still.

It wasn't until a small explosion came from the kitchen and Kadaj screamed that Sephiroth turned around. "Go," he said quietly, the firelight reflecting in his eerily calm eyes. "Out the fire escape, now."

Kadaj opened his mouth to protest, but Sephiroth grabbed his arm and steered him to the balcony doors. "I will be out within five minutes. You need to get out now," he said roughly.

Without bothering to look back to make sure Kadaj left, Sephiroth turned towards their bedrooms, rifling through them to gather clothes and other important items. Quickly throwing on a sweatshirt and sneakers, he headed down the hallway, two duffel bags in hand, only to find that flames were partially blocking his escape.

"Shit," he muttered, dropping the bags to wrap his hair into a messy bun. Flipping the hood over his head, he dashed down the hallway, managing to get through with only minimal searing on his face. He slammed open the front door to see that other occupants of their floor had poked their heads out to investigate the smell, but, curiously, none had pulled the fire alarm. With a exasperated groan, he reached out and pulled the switch, activating a loud siren and floor-wide sprinkler system. He ran back into the apartment, slowly being destroyed now by water as well as fire, and ran through the balcony doors, scrambling down the metal staircase to where Kadaj waited below.

—

Hours later on what was, for all other intents and purposes, a beautiful Sunday morning, Sephiroth found himself staring up into the sky at the billowing smoke coming from his penthouse apartment as firefighters finally subdued the blaze. Kadaj stood next to him, visibly shaken, but trying to remain calm. After letting out what seemed to him like the millionth sigh in the past twelve hours, Sephiroth turned to his younger brother.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

Kadaj shook his head. "No, I'm fine," he said quietly, still gazing at the fire. "I'm...sorry. Please don't be mad at me, but I understand—"

"I'm not mad at you," Sephiroth said. He ignored Kadaj's immediate look of disbelief. He might have been mad at the teen in the moment, but now, after the fact, after thinking about what could have happened, Sephiroth couldn't remain angered with him. "I'm not mad at you."

Kadaj slowly turned his face back towards the apartment building, letting the sounds of sirens and shouting firefighters wash over him. "Okay," he murmured. "Thanks."

Sephiroth gave a small "hmm" of agreement before saying, "Just try not to be so unbearably idiotic next time."

"Maybe next time you should try not to sleep like the dead," grumbled Kadaj, shooting Sephiroth a quick smirk.

Sephiroth shoved Kadaj with his shoulder, and then slung an arm around the boy's waist in a rare show of affection. Kadaj leaned his head against Sephiroth's chest.

"Where will we stay?" he asked.

Sephiroth thought for a moment. "Angeal doesn't live too far from here. I'm sure he won't mind if we stay with him," he said. Resisting the overwhelming urge to sigh yet again, Sephiroth instead tightened his hold on his brother, mentally preparing himself for everything he was about to have to deal with. It was going to be a very long week.


	6. Unexpected Harmonies

A/N: It's been a while, hasn't it. A little over a year, I think. To those of you who genuinely enjoy this story, I apologize deeply. The past year has been a killer-mentally, eventfully-and I lost part of my motivation to write altogether. But I've found it again, thankfully, and I'm going to try to get back into my usual groove of writing. I've realized that it's something I miss dearly, and I don't ever want to lose it. So, thanks for bearing with me, and enjoy the story. Oh, and if you find any errors, please let me know. ^^'

* * *

Zack Fair knew he was a reasonably good friend. In fact, he considered himself a damn good friend. He was caring, loyal, and always there when someone needed him. He liked to think, as a matter of fact, that he had a sixth sense when it came to his friends being in any sort of trouble.

A sixth sense, Zack informed Tifa, which had led him to Seventh Heaven early Monday morning, sitting at the bar while Tifa prepared breakfast for Marlene and Denzel.

The brunet turned around, frying pan in hand, and leveled a stare at Zack. "Or it could be because you know you royally screwed up Saturday night," she said, "and now feel incredibly guilty about it."

Or it could have been that.

"No," answered Zack defensively. "I don't feel guilty because I did noth—"

"So you mean that when you called me to find out how Cloud was doing, and I told you he hadn't left his room once since coming home, you didn't feel a shred of guilt?" Tifa turned off the stove so she could direct the full extent of her scorn at Zack.

"Of course not, Tif," said Zack sheepishly. "I—"

"And when you actually helped Aerith around the shop yesterday, instead of dallying and flirting like you usually do, you mean to say there wasn't an ounce of guilt in your heart?"

Zack sputtered. "Wha—how did you—"

"And you mean to say that you rushed over here at nine in the morning not because you felt so guilty over hanging your best friend out to dry on what you knew was perhaps the most important night of his life, but because you wanted to see my bright, smiling, sunshiney face?"

Zack knew what Tifa's smiling face looked like. This was not her smiling face. And Zack didn't like it at all. Before she could continue on her tirade, Zack rose from the bar, hands held in the air. "Mercy," he cried, turning towards the stairs. "I'll go talk to him, okay?"

Tifa made a noise of approval, smiling to herself as Zack disappeared up the stairs.

It was eerily silent on the upper level of the bar as Zack turned the corner at the top of the stairs. He tiptoed over to Cloud's door (though he had no idea why—it wasn't like he had a guilty conscience or anything), raising his hand to knock.

"Hey, Spikey?" He rapped lightly on the door. No answer.

He knocked harder on the door. "Cloud," he called out. Still, no answer.

With a heavy sigh, he turned the doorknob, slowly pushing the door open and peeking inside. Cloud's room was dark, with the blinds pulled tightly shut. The only sign of life was the lump underneath the covers on the bed that rose and fell every few seconds.

Zack, however, was not put off. He snuck into the room, closing the door behind himself, and crept over to Cloud's bedside. Carefully reaching out a hand, he tapped his friend on the shoulder. "Hey, Spikey," he said softly. "It's Zack...you wanna talk?"

Zack could tell by the slight change in Cloud's breathing that he was awake and ignoring him. Zack did not take very well to being ignored, especially when he was trying to be a good friend. "Clooooouuuuuuud," he said loudly, shoving at the blonde's arm with both hands hard enough to roll him over. The covers fell from his face, revealing closed eyes and a marginally annoyed expression.

"Hi," said Zack quickly, thrilled to have finally made some ground, "so, I heard that you haven't left your bed in, like, a million years an—"

Before Zack could say anything further, Cloud yanked the comforter back over his face. Zack frowned and narrowed his eyes.

"Fine," he said grumpily, rising from the bed and walking across the room, "you want to play hard? I'll play hard." He took a running jump and pounced onto the bed, landing square on top of Cloud's chest.

The blonde let loose a pained gasp, his eyes flying wide open. Zack pulled down the sheets from Cloud's face, straddling his waist and planting his palms on Cloud's pecs. "Cloud," he said seriously, "you're my best friend."

Said best friend would have liked to pose a threatening rebuttal, but he couldn't, due to the alarming lack of oxygen in his system. Cloud struggled to pull in a full breath of air, coughing heavily in the process.

"And as your best friend," continued Zack, "it is my sole and solemn duty to ensure your well-being. Up until now, I've been doing a pretty damn good job of it, if I may say so." He grinned widely and turned his head to the side in a gesture of mock modesty.

Cloud finally got enough strength to reach up and knock Zack in the head, sending him sprawling across the bed. "Asshole," he rasped.

"Regardless," said Zack, scrambling into a cross-legged sitting position, "I'm still an asshole with your best interest at heart, and as such, I feel it is my job to approach you this fine morning."

"Approach me with what?" Cloud glared at Zack, annoyed with him not only for nearly crushing his ribs, but also disrupting his rather comfortable and restful sleep.

"With the statement of one Tifa Lockhart," said Zack sternly, "that you haven't been out of bed since you came home last night. Because now I'm getting flak for it, and I don't like it."

Cloud sighed and rolled his eyes. "Go away," said Cloud. "It wasn't your fault, and stop reminding me about last night. You can tell Tifa I've cleared you of all blame."

Zack frowned, completely unsatisfied with such an answer. "Cloud, I'm serious," he insisted, staring Cloud in the eyes. "I'm sorry your night got ruined, even if it wasn't my fault. I don't like seeing you like this, all depressed and shit. It brings back too many memories, and it's not cool." He looked away, focusing on his hand as he drew nonsense patterns on the sheets.

They both sat in silence as Cloud crossed his arms and sighed. Zack had always been there for him, always been a supportive friend, and here he was, being a whiny little bitch about things again. Zack was right. He couldn't just push him away when he was only trying to help. "Zack—"

"So here's what we're gonna do," Zack interrupted excitedly. The moment he saw the resigned expression on his friend's face Zack knew that he had won the battle. He pounced on Cloud, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "We're gonna go over to Angeal's house, 'cause you know who's always at Angeal's house? Genesis! And there's nothing like a Genesis Rhapsodos to make a guy feel better, right? Of course, right!"

Zack leapt off the bed, taking a decisive stance with his hands on his hips. "Come on, get up! Get dressed," he commanded, giving Cloud a stern glance.

Cloud rolled his eyes. Honestly, he gave him an inch, and the easily excited imbecile ran fifty miles with it. "Zack," he stated.

The dark-haired man closed his eyes and shook his head. "Nope, no excuses, Cloudy," he said. "I'm not leaving this room until you get dressed." He folded his arms and waited, foot tapping impatiently against the floor.

_Why me?_ thought Cloud as he slowly got out of the bed. "I have to take a shower," he warned, shuffling towards his dresser.

Zack beamed. "Don't worry, I don't mind watching," he said cheerfully.

Cloud spun around, pinning Zack with a glare, and the brunet had the nerve to double over in laughter. The blond merely brushed past him with a scoff, towel and boxers in hand.

Zack followed behind him. "Hey, I was serious," he called out.

* * *

"I appreciate you allowing Kadaj and me to stay here while the apartment is being renovated," said Sephiroth, placing the last of the boxes on the floor of Angeal Hewley's living room. The firefighters had managed to take control of the fire fairly quickly, saving most of their possessions from destruction. Their bedrooms, and the contents thereof, were mostly intact, the flames having only reached as far as Sephiroth's bedroom door. Most importantly, Sephiroth's music room had remained unscathed, his music and piano thankfully intact. Still, the apartment was unlivable at the moment, with all of the fire, smoke, and water damage, and its distinct lack of a kitchen. Hence, their current situation.

Kadaj leaned against the doorframe, watching as Sephiroth and Angeal surveyed the area. There were only a few boxes, maybe ten at the most, and Kadaj knew for a fact that at least one box was devoted entirely to hair care products that Sephiroth had rescued from his bathroom. "Don't you mean 'Kadaj, my hair products, and I,' Seph?" he said snidely, toeing one of the boxes.

Sephiroth whirled around, aiming a glare at his brother. He had been secretly lamenting that he hadn't been able to properly pamper his hair for the past 24 hours, and that he'd been reduced to wearing it tied in a messy knot. "You are forbidden from speaking for the next week," he snarled, pointing a finger in his direction. "_I_ happen not to care if your intestines are hanging outside of your body. You speak to me, and I will strangle you with them."

Angeal gave an amused chuckle. "Easy, Seph," he said, placing a calming hand on his arm. "There will be no bloodshed in my house."

"Better hide the knives then," Kadaj said with a scoff, peeking into the nearest box. Oh, good, his belt collection.

Seph growled, but made no move other than narrowing his eyes. He turned his fiery gaze on Angeal, who only rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Kadaj," he said, "end of the hallway, left side. Your room. Go to it."

The shorter-haired Crescent sibling hefted the box, balancing it on his hip as he followed Angeal's directions. "Whatever you say, Angeal," he called over his shoulder. "Tell loverboy I said good luck, and I'm always willing to give him advice."

The bedroom door slammed shut, and Sephiroth let out a short scream of frustration. "That...that _child_," he seethed. "If it weren't for the promise I made—"

"Relax," Angeal said, clamping a hand down on Sephiroth's shoulder and forcing him down onto the couch. "He's only a kid, and remember, he was much younger than you when your parents died."

Sephiroth stared blankly forward, drumming his fingers on the arm of the chair. "I know," he said on a sigh. Even before their parents' untimely deaths, Sephiroth had promised them that, in the event of any unfortunate circumstances, he would keep an eye out for his younger brothers and take care of them. Loz had been sixteen at the time; even though he was considered "the baby" out of all of them, he still managed to help Sephiroth a great deal during the months and years that followed. Yazoo, though younger, had also acted very maturely, assisting where he could and understanding all that Sephiroth was responsible for.

But Kadaj, the petulant brat, constantly acted up, playing sibling rivalry with him at every turn. Granted, Sephiroth forgave him much of the time when he was younger, taking into account how young Kadaj had been to experience both of his parents' deaths. As he grew older, however, and the childish defiance turned into pure teenage rebellion, Sephiroth quickly learned how to play his youngest brother's game.

Sephiroth thinned his lips, blinked, and suddenly noticed that Angeal had sat down on the coffee table in front of him, and was staring patiently. "What," he snapped.

"You still love him," Angeal pointed out. "Or at least, care about him. I know you pretty damn well, Seph. You don't tolerate bullshit unless you're getting something out of it personally."

Sephiroth looked to the side. "Of course I still love him," he murmured with a scowl. "He's my baby brother. I just...why does he have to be so damned difficult? Is it really so hard for him to just fucking listen for once?" He directed his gaze back to Angeal, frowning deeply and eyes questioning.

Angeal raised his eyebrows, and then laughed loudly. "Seph, he's sixteen years old," he said, standing up and clamping his hands down on Sephiroth's shoulders. "Hate to break it to you, but you were just as annoying at one point yourself."

The older man turned and walked towards the kitchen, leaving Sephiroth to sputter angrily behind him. "I was nowhere _near_ as difficult in my teenage years," he hissed, following after him. "I was refined, graceful, mannered, intelligent—"

"—Very unwilling to listen to authority, rebellious, stubborn, and wildly independent," Angeal finished listing for him, glancing over his shoulder. "Don't think I've forgotten about the Truth or Dare incident."

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. "It wasn't my fault if they didn't know that I could hotwire a car," he growled, crossing his arms, "and that bitch deserved it anyway."

Angeal turned to face him, crossing his own arms over his chest. "Or the Jack Daniels incident," he continued.

"In my defense, I sincerely thought my father was going to kill me," Sephiroth defended, " and it was the first thing I could grab."

"And what about the Incident-Which-Shall-Not-Be-Named?" Angeal's grin stretched across his face.

Sephiroth reddened. "Don't you dare ever tell _anyone_ about that," he warned gravely, narrowing his eyes. "I swear on everything holy, Angeal, if you _ever_ tell anyone—"

"You'll what? Knock me out with a bottle of Jack? Steal my car and push it into a river?" Angeal danced out of Sephiroth's reach, clutching his stomach in laughter. "Put on your favorite pair of hooker boots and—"

"Angeal Hewley, if you do not cease speaking this instant, I swear I will spread your entrails across fifteen city blocks, and you will _not_ enjoy it at all," Sephiroth declared icily, his fingers arching into claws.

The brunet chuckled in spite of the glare he was under. "All right, take it easy," he said, throwing Sephiroth a sidelong glance, "Tinkerbell."

Sephiroth tried very hard not to tear his beautiful hair out in annoyance.

* * *

"We are not taking that car."

"Why not? It's a perfectly nice car," argued Zack.

Cloud shook his head vehemently. "You managed to get me out of bed, into the shower, into these ridiculous clothes, out of my room, and out of the bar, but you are not," he stated sharply, "getting me to drive in that vehicle."

Cloud had allowed Zack to dress him, meaning instead of his usual comfortable sweatpants and T-shirt, he was wearing another tight wife-beater—"It shows off your manly biceps!"—with a black vest jacket over it, along with a pair of dark denim Bermuda shorts Cloud hadn't even known he owned. It wasn't something he would have picked for himself, but after double-checking with Tifa, he figured it was a presentable outfit enough to leave the house in.

But the car...that went well past Cloud's realm of socially acceptable and far into the land of social suicide. It wasn't Zack's car, which Cloud wouldn't have had an issue with. It was _Aerith's_ car, a black Honda Accord—but that in itself wasn't even the issue. No, the _issue_ was the bright, bold, pink lettering that adorned the top of her windshield, reading quite proudly and unmistakably, "ZACK'S GIRL."

Zack's eyes danced over the writing on the windshield. "It's cute," he said defensively, "and it shows how much she really loves me."

Cloud gave him a side-long glance filled with doubt.

"So much that she's willing to tell the world's entire driving population," clarified Zack with an enthusiastic nod. "Plus the people on the sidewalks."

"And she's the only one," mumbled Cloud derisively. "I'm still not riding in that car."

Zack threw his hands up in the air. "Oh, come _on,_" he complained. "It's not that bad. I drove it here and nothing happened."

"That you know of," Cloud commented. Zack sighed, but Cloud only continued. "Look, I'm gay, I know I'm gay, and I really don't need help telling the whole world I'm gay, much less gay for _you_." With that he took his motorcycle keys from his pocket and dangled them in Zack's face. "We're taking my bike."

Zack huffed, but snatched the keys from Cloud. "Fine," he relented, making his way over to the bike. His picked up one of the helmets resting on the seat. "But I'm driving."

Cloud merely nodded in agreement, simply happy he didn't have to ride in the monstrosity Aerith called her car. He wished she had only talked to him before getting such ridiculous decorations. Climbing onto the bike behind Zack, he wrapped his arms tightly around Zack's waist as he started the engine, pulling out of the parking lot with ease. As he relaxed into the drive, he thought about Zack's words. Maybe it would be good for him to get out for a little bit, and have some fun with his friends. A tiny smile crept across his face as he leaned tighter into Zack, suddenly appreciative of everything the man had done for him. Despite his somewhat faulty track record, Zack had a way of making sure everything worked out all right in the end.

They arrived at Angeal's house a short while later, and Cloud found himself slightly regretting the brevity of the trip. As much as he loved driving his bike, it was just as nice to be a passenger on it, too. He swung his leg over the bike, placing his helmet on the seat. He glanced around the area, taking in his surroundings; he'd never actually been to Angeal's house before. It was a nice neighborhood, simply designed and quiet. Nothing really remarkable, until he noticed the car parked in the driveway. A Jaguar XKR. Unless Angeal as well owned a forest green, 2 door, 2 seat, GT coupe Jaguar XKR with a license plate reading "NOVA538", that car could only belong to one person.

"Zack," Cloud started in a mild panic.

Zack turned around and tossed Cloud's keys over to him. "Come on, let's go," he said excitedly, grabbing hold of Cloud around the shoulders. "I think you've met Gen a couple times, right? Hmm, maybe not. I talk about you two so much to each other, you probably feel like you know him anyway, right?" He chattered happily, oblivious to Cloud's sudden trepidation.

"Zack, that car," Cloud tried again. He had a sinking feeling that things were about to go very, very badly.

"Oh, yeah, it's nice, isn't it? I don't think it's 'Geal's, though," he mused, "so it's probably Gen's."

"No, Zack—"

"Don't worry," he said easily. He had already led them up the driveway to the front door and was mercilessly pounding at the doorbell. "Gen's really easy to get along with. And you're pretty, so he'll probably like you even more."

"ZACK!" Cloud turned to his friend and shouted in his face, trying desperately to get his attention before—

The door was yanked open, and a rather irritated-looking Sephiroth demanded, "What?"

Both Cloud and Zack froze, Cloud with his hands gripping Zack's shoulder's, and their heads immediately snapped towards Sephiroth. The trio stared at each other for a few moments of silence while Angeal, still recovering from laughter, tried to see who was at his door from behind Sephiroth. Finally, Zack broke the silence.

"You are definitely _not_ Genesis Rhapsodos," said Zack, his eyebrows arching towards his hairline.

Cloud wanted to die.

* * *

Quick A/N: That car? It exists. I don't know if it was exactly a Honda Accord or not, I never got that close to it, but every day in high school, our bus would pass by this daycare, and in the parking lot of this daycare was a car that read 'ZACK'S GIRL' in bright pink lettering across the top of the windshield. The moment I saw it, I knew it would have its place here. ^^


	7. Accelerando, Baby: Part One

Sephiroth could only scowl in annoyance at the sight he was met with. "Obviously not," he ground out, trying very hard to keep his temper in check. He was beginning to wonder if he'd royally pissed off some goddess and was now being tortuously punished for his misdeeds. There was no way all of the things that had happened already, plus _this_, could simply be coincidence. His arms crossed over his chest, an effort to keep his fisted hands from lashing out.

"Who—oh, Zack," said Angeal, his face appearing just over Sephiroth's shoulder. "And Cloud, right? Nice to meet you." He gave him a genial smile.

Cloud, who had folded his arms tightly against his chest and taken to glaring at the doorframe, quickly glanced over to Angeal, giving him a tense nod of acknowledgment. Beside him, Zack grinned and waved hello to his friend.

"'Geal! There ya are. For a second, I thought I had the wrong house," he joked with a laugh.

Angeal shook his head. "Of course not. Come inside," he said, pushing lightly at Sephiroth's arm. "Don't mind Captain Stuffypants over here."

Sephiroth stiffened at the use of the childish nickname. "That's _General_ Stuffypants to you, Angeal," he retorted quickly, stepping back into the house to allow Zack and Cloud inside. Zack wasted no time in making himself at home, throwing himself onto the couch, while Cloud lingered near the door.

"Please, have a seat," Angeal said, motioning towards Zack. "The puppy has the right idea. I'll get some drinks." Cloud nodded and made his way over to the couch, sitting stiffly in the corner.

"Let me help you," Sephiroth added, hurrying to follow Angeal into the kitchen. Angeal only raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.

As soon as Angeal and Sephiroth disappeared around the corner into the kitchen, Cloud turned on Zack. "What the _fuck,_" he hissed angrily, his eyes pools of burning blue fire, "is going on?"

Zack's eyes grew wide in innocence and—he wouldn't deny it—a fair amount of fear. "I swear on Aerith's life, Cloud, I did not know he was going to be here," he said as sincerely as he possibly could.

"You didn't know? You _didn't know?_" Cloud hissed, grabbing hold of Zack's shoulders and shaking firmly. "_You didn't know? _Zack, what the _fuck?_"

Zack shut his eyes and winced. "Do you mind? You're making me sick," he said mildly, pushing back at Cloud, who quickly knocked Zack's hand away. Cloud retracted his arms, crossing them sternly over his chest.

"This had better not be another one of your plans," Cloud growled.

Zack shook his head, eyes wide. "It's not," he pleaded, scratching at the back of his head. "But I almost wish it was. I mean, it's genius! Best friend is depressed over date gone wrong, convince best friend to go to random mutual friend's house, best friend's super-hot crush happens to be there at the same time—" He took in a sharp breath, voice filled with excitement and glee.

"Zack."

Zack paused mid-sentence and glanced sheepishly at his friend. "Oh. Right," he apologized, grinning weakly. "But, I mean, you could totally make the most of this, right? Make up for...you know."

Cloud stared hard at Zack, but his anger was quickly giving way to despair again. He heaved a huge sigh and slumped over, resting his arms on his knees. "When the fuck did my life turn into such a shit-show?" he asked dolefully, his voice slightly muffled.

"Hmm, probably August 19, approximately 23 years ago," Zack said offhandedly.

Cloud's head snapped up, and Zack only laughed at the angry pout that graced his features. "Relax," he said, waving his hands in a gesture of peace, "I'm only joking. But seriously, this is your chance to put some moves on him! Go crazy!"

Cloud raised an eyebrow, and Zack quickly amended his statement. "Okay, maybe not _crazy_, but feel free to get creative," he said wisely with a nod.

_I'm ruined_, thought Cloud as he dramatically slumped backwards onto the couch with a heavy sigh. "Why me?" he muttered, throwing his arm over his eyes.

* * *

"Why me? Of all people, what have I ever done to deserve this?" Sephiroth paced back and forth in the kitchen, taking about five or six steps across the small space before turning sharply on his heel.

Angeal chuckled lowly. "I can easily think of at least three things," he commented, ticking them off on his fingers. "Jack Daniels, Halloween—"

Sephiroth spun and faced Angeal, thrusting an accusatory finger in his face.

"You," he hissed, "this is all your fault. You called your little puppy over here and told him to bring Cloud the minute I asked you if I could stay, didn't you." His eyes glittered dangerously at his best friend.

Angeal only raised an eyebrow. "Seph, I had no idea the kid was coming over," he said calmly. "I think you're overreacting just a little bit."

"_Overreacting_? I don't think you understand the gravity of this situation, Hewley," Sephiroth said icily, folding his arms over his chest.

"What, a hot piece of ass just walked in the door and you're all out of condoms?" Angeal rolled his eyes as he rummaged through his refrigerator.

"He is _not_ a hot piece of ass," Sephiroth seethed.

Angeal snorted. "Then I think you need to reconsider this whole infatuation thing," he retorted.

Sephiroth sucked in a breath and let it out slowly, trying to keep his temper in check. "You know exactly what I meant," he grumbled, sitting himself down at the table. He crossed his arms on the table, laying his head down on the cool surface and staring silently at nothing in particular.

Angeal watched him curiously as he poured glasses of lemonade. "If he's that important to you, then why don't you just say something to him?" he questioned, and not for the first time.

"I've already told you, Angeal, I don't want to scare him away," Sephiroth moaned. "And he's not even attracted to me. I'd be forcing myself on him, and I don't want to do that." Suddenly he picked his head up from the table, one hand tangling in his hair as he looked to Angeal wildly.

"Look at me! I'm in sweatpants and a T-shirt, and my hair looks like a fucking bird's nest! Cloud's not attracted to me when I'm dressed like a sex god," Sephiroth whined, "so how the hell do I stand a chance of attracting him like _this_?" He pulled at his hair in distress, a frown distorting all of his features.

Angeal barely refrained from laughing in amusement. "At the risk of this getting back to Genesis in some way or form, you could be wearing absolutely nothing and you would still look like a sex god," he stated.

Sephiroth's expression cleared immediately. "Stop pointing out the obvious, Angeal, it's not like you," he said smugly.

"So strip," said Angeal with a chuckle. A glass in each hand, he motioned towards the other two glasses on the counter.

"And have the police called on me for indecent exposure? I think not," scoffed Sephiroth as he picked up the glasses.

"I'm pretty sure it's not illegal if you're in your own home," said Angeal thoughtfully.

"I know how badly you want me naked, Angeal, but it's not happening," Sephiroth said sternly.

Angeal only shrugged, backing up towards the kitchen doorway. "I was just saying," he said, stifling a laugh. "I thought he might appreciate the gesture."

Sephiroth glared at the ground. "It's not funny," he muttered. A sudden pout graced his lips. "And besides," he said slowly, "I really am out of condoms."

* * *

Angeal couldn't hold back his laughter he headed towards Zack and Cloud. Sephiroth only glared at his back as he followed Angeal from the kitchen around the corner into the den. He swallowed hard at the sight of Cloud splayed out over the couch, fighting against the blush forming on his cheeks.

"Yes! Angeal's famous lemonade," Zack cried upon receiving his glass. His eyes lit up in excitement. "Please tell me it's hard," he questioned.

Sephiroth snorted, and Cloud's head snapped up to glare at Zack, who only shrugged innocently. Angeal laughed, trying to ease the tension he could feel rolling off Sephiroth's body. "No, Zack, it's barely even noon," he answered, much to the brunet's chagrin. Beside him, Cloud muttered a thank you to Sephiroth, who'd wordlessly handed him a glass. Just behind Sephiroth, Angeal raised an eyebrow at Zack at the chilly interaction, and Zack only rolled his eyes in annoyance. The older man bit his lips trying to hold back a chuckle.

Angeal sighed softly. It was almost pitiful—scratch that; it absolutely was. "Besides," he said with a wink towards Cloud, "I'm sure there are enough hard things in this room." Cloud, who had just taken a large swallow of his lemonade, promptly choked and sputtered, his eyes alighting on Zack in a furious glare.

Sephiroth felt his entire body clenching in anger. It was probably the only thing that kept him from dropping his glass out of sheer shock. Before he could take a step in Angeal's direction, the man held out his hand in a gesture of peace. "You're the most hard-headed person I know, Seph," Angeal said around his laughter, "and the puppy can be pretty stubborn when he wants to be, right?" He looked towards the red-faced blond, who paused in his ocular murder of Zack long enough to glance at Angeal in acknowledgment.

"Yeah," Cloud growled slowly, his eyes sliding back over to Zack, whose face was scrunched up in an attempt to stifle his laughter, "pretty damn stubborn," though the way he said it, it sounded more like, "I sincerely hope you weren't planning on having children with Aerith, because I am about to personally ensure that you are never able to have children again."

"Almost to the point where it's completely unamusing," Sephiroth added towards Angeal, though his tone made it sound more like he'd said, "You had better learn to like women, because when you wake up tomorrow, you will be one."

Both Angeal and Zack eyed each other—any excuse to escape from Sephiroth's and Cloud's twin glares of promised wrath—and burst into fresh waves of laughter. "You guys are too easy," Angeal chuckled, wiping a tear from his eye.

"I hope not," called a melodic voice from somewhere down the hall, "being easy's my job around here."

Sephiroth's eyes widened dramatically, and Angeal scrunched up his face. "Good Gaia, not now," he muttered. Sephiroth hastily drained his glass of lemonade, looking for all the world like he wished it were straight vodka.

A head of stylishly cut auburn hair peeked around the corner. Genesis' eyes scanned over the crowd, and a small smirk graced his lips. His eyes met with Sephiroth's for a brief moment as he ignored the excited Zack, and Sephiroth slowly blinked. It was a blink that promised at least seventeen different types of retribution, nine of them horribly painful deaths, should Genesis even _think_ of interfering with Cloud. Genesis' smirk evolved into a grin.

"Ooh, a party," Genesis said as he waltzed into the room, "and you didn't think to invite me? Angeal, I'm hurt." He held a gloved hand over his heart with a pout, feigning some grievous slight as he stood in front of his boyfriend. Angeal graciously leaned in to give him a small kiss, placating the redhead with a soft murmur. Genesis waved him off and turned towards Sephiroth, his pout morphing into an expression of distaste.

"_What_ in Gaia's name are you wearing, Seph," Genesis stated more than asked, waving a hand up and down at Sephiroth's general being. "Sweatpants? A sloppy bun? _Sneakers? _I swear I taught you better than this." Genesis shook his head. Compared to Sephiroth, he looked like he'd stepped off a designer photoshoot in an olive green short-sleeve button down shirt and skinny jeans tucked into black military-style boots. Sephiroth only scowled at his friend, highly unamused.

"Honestly, Seph," Genesis continued, "if this is how you dress to meet with him, no wonder you're having problems—ow!" Genesis jumped a little at the sudden sting of pain he felt on his backside. He turned to see Zack grinning at him—too widely, he noticed, even for Zack—and glared.

"Gen, you haven't said hello to me yet," Zack whined, his leg bouncing restlessly, "and to think I came all this way just to see you!" Call him many things, but Zack wasn't a sadistic soul. He wasn't about to let Genesis so obviously torture either of his love-sick friends.

Genesis rolled his eyes with a sigh. "Yes, then, come say hello, puppy," he said in a long-suffering tone. Zack immediately placed his glass on the table and took a running leap into Genesis, the redhead, to his credit, only staggering backwards a single step. He sneezed as Zack's errant spikes tickled his nose, and mumbled, "You know I only tolerate this because you allow me to—"

"Yeah, I know," Zack sang back, ignoring the choked sputter from Cloud as Genesis blatantly groped Zack's ass.

Genesis glanced over Zack's shoulder at Cloud as the raven-haired man pulled away into a more normal hug. Shrugging and moving away from Zack, he stopped in front of Cloud, canting his head as he observed the blond curiously. He made a small noise of understanding. "Hm, and you must be Cloud. A pleasure to meet you," he said courteously, shooting a quick glance at Sephiroth as he extending his hand in greeting, before locking his eyes on Cloud's form.

And what a form it was...Genesis couldn't help but admire Sephiroth's taste as he took in Cloud's muscle tone, his lightly tanned skin, the electric blue eyes that narrowed at him as his handshake lasting slightly longer than manners dictated—ah. Genesis leaned in close to Cloud ear and murmured, "_Now_ I understand," before pulling backwards. Before either Sephiroth or Cloud could make a move towards him, Genesis stepped away, clearing his throat.

"Well, then," he said airily, "what have you lovebirds been up to?"

Zack's jaw dropped, Sephiroth's fist clenched, Cloud's eyes narrowed, and Angeal started praying to every goddess he could think of. Genesis' face registered confusion. "When I left, there were three people in this house," he said. "Now there are five. I think I'm well within my manners to ask why the puppy and...his friend have come visiting." He hazarded a glance over at Sephiroth, gauging the man's reaction to his light tease.

Zack's face lit up. "We came to see you, Gen! Cloudy-kins was feeling a little under the weather," he chattered, "so I figured, what's the best thing to cheer someone up? An afternoon with Genesis Rhapsodos!"

"Because he's such a shit show, he automatically makes everyone else feel better about themselves," Sephiroth muttered caustically. Cloud's eyes darted over to Sephiroth, the tiny smirk on his lips the only show of his approval.

Genesis deigned not to acknowledge the comment, instead focusing on the sole occupant of the room who seemed to appreciate his presence. "Ah, you've come to the right man, then," he said, graciously working himself onto the couch in between Cloud and Zack. "How bad are we talking, puppy—'I just spilled my iced caramel machiatto on my favorite pair of jeans' depressed, or 'I just spilled my soul to my long-time crush and he rejected me' depressed?"

Angeal swore he felt the temperature in the room drop by at least 10 degrees. Sephiroth slammed his empty glass onto the coffee table, sharply turning on his heel and heading for the kitchen. Angeal only barely managed to restrain him with two hands holding firmly onto Sephiroth's biceps. "No knives," he said slowly.

Zack chuckled nervously as Sephiroth finally relented, stiffly turning around and taking a seat in the armchair furthest away from the sofa. "Uh," the brunet said carefully, staring nervously into Cloud's glare over Genesis' shoulder, "I think it's more like 'I just spilled my best friend's blood across half of Cosmo Canyon and now I'm regretting my distinct lack of an awesome best friend' depressed."

Had anyone asked him, Cloud would have swore that the soft rumbling noise that ensued absolutely was _not_ him growling under his breath.

Genesis, ignorant of the rampant tension in the room, nodded sagely. "That's a pretty serious situation," he said calmly. "Luckily, I happen to know the best remedy for that sort of thing!"

Zack raised an eyebrow and grinned. "See, Cloud? Told ya he's the perfect guy to see," he said pointedly, relieved to have finally steered the conversation away from such dangerous topics as the revelation of certain secrets that were probably best left unrevealed. Sephiroth grunted but said nothing further as Angeal glanced at him meaningfully, and Cloud turned to stare straight ahead.

"Okay, this is good," said Angeal, ever the peace-keeper, "Genesis, lighten the mood up a bit, and I'll go grab some more drinks." He barely managed to take three steps before Genesis opened his mouth again.

"Yes, everyone knows the best way to cheer someone up is to tell them the Tinkerbell story," he said, examining his fingernails with the slightest of smirks.

Angeal groaned, and Sephiroth's fingers arched into claws. "Genesis fucking Rhapsodos, if you do not see fit to shut your mouth this instant, I will be more than glad to remove every vestige of a vocal apparatus you own," he snarled. Clearly, the Tinkerbell story was a sore spot for the silver-haired pianist, Cloud noticed with a trace of a smile. His god wasn't perfect after all, and Cloud loved him all the more for it.

Zack immediately spoke without thinking, the positively murderous expression on Sephiroth's face the only thing he could comprehend. There was no way anything good could come out of having someone that angry in their presence. "Hey, that's okay, no murdering today," he said, standing up with his hands out in a peaceful gesture. "Listen, Seph—I can tell you tons of embarrassing stories about Cloud! Like the Miss Cloud incident!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Zack clamped a hand over it, a mumbled "Oops," filtering past. If Sephiroth was managing to burn holes in Genesis' skull with his glare, then Cloud had definitely frozen all of the blood in Zack's veins with all of the ice in the gaze he turned on him. "Zackary Fair," Cloud said in a deceptively soft voice, "if you value being alive in any way, shape, or form at all, I highly suggest that you cut your tongue out, because clearly it does not have your best interests at heart."

The ominous tone to Cloud's normally neutral and serene voice made Sephiroth pause in his anger for a moment. Hmm...he could truly come to appreciate this vicious side of his blond angel. To think, a temper that nearly matched his own. They could make a formidable team together, should some unfortunate soul provoke both of them at once. But he had more important things to focus on at the moment, like destroying Genesis Rhapsodos.

"Oh? This...'Miss Cloud' story sounds quite fascinating," Genesis commented as plainly as though he were discussing the weather, "but I must insist you hear the Tinkerbell escapades first. I assure you, if you darling Cloud isn't feeling better afterward, nothing will help."

"_Angeal,"_ Sephiroth warned, letting the older brunet know that if he didn't intervene soon, he'd be short a lover.

Zack glanced between Sephiroth and Cloud. "Really? That sounds super interesting," he said thoughtfully, "but I really don't want to piss off Seph. I mean, no offense, Spikey, but I'd rather have you mad at me than Killer over there. Maybe I should tell the Miss Cloud story first."

"_Zack_," Cloud said, his blue eyes flashing. He thought Sephiroth's anger was worse than his? Then he'd never been privileged enough to have Cloud truly mad at him.

Angeal glanced from Sephiroth, to Cloud, to Genesis and Zack. With a heavy sigh, he ran a hand over his face. "Listen, how about we—"

"We have company and no one thought to tell me?" Kadaj poked his head around the corner of the hallway, peering into the sitting room where the showdown was taking place. His eldest brother seemed angrier than he'd ever seen him before.

"Ah, Kadaj," Genesis said, snapping his fingers. "Have you not heard the Tinkerbell story? If not, you must come join us."

Kadaj raised an eyebrow, noticing Sephiroth's violent reaction to the mere word 'Tinkerbell,' and made his way into the room. "Are we telling embarrassing stories about Sephiroth, now? You should have invited me sooner, Genesis," Kadaj cooed, his eyes sliding over to Sephiroth. "Has he ever told you about the time he lost a bet to Vincent and—"

It was only years of having dealt with Sephiroth's tantrums that alerted Angeal to the motion, and he moved to restrain Sephiroth before he'd even realized it. "Sephiroth, outside," he said tersely, "_now."_

"Let me kill him," Sephiroth said, eyes flashing with anger, "let me kill them both. They'll never find the bodies, I swear."

"Hey, no need to be rude," Zack said, jumping up and pushing Kadaj to the side. "Sephiroth, c'mon, I'm sure it's not that bad. I mean, all of Cloud's best friends know about how he dressed up in drag, and they're still friends...with...him..."

A deathly silence fell over the room as everyone looked first to Zack, and then at Cloud. The brunet slapped his hands over his mouth, muffling his hastily uttered apologies, but the damage had already been done. Cloud's fingers twitched restlessly as he barely restrained himself from punching Zack-

"Don't worry, Cloud, you're in good company," Kadaj said confidently, waving a hand dismissively. "Did you know Seph wears women's panties for sport?"

That was the final straw. Cloud darted forward, and were it not for Genesis' quick block, he would have shattered Zack's nose into a million pieces. Zack shrieked and jumped backwards onto the couch, pulling Kadaj with him as Sephiroth had managed to momentarily break free from Angeal's grip.

"Oh," purred the teenager, turning towards Zack with a smirk, "this is nice."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Straight," he said, "with a girlfriend." He relinquished his hold on the boy as Angeal wrapped his arms around a murderous Sephiroth's torso.

Kadaj pouted. "Fine," he said with a sigh, "but that hasn't stopped me in the past." He giggled as Zack rolled his eyes again.

"_Kadaj_, you little _shit,"_ Sephiroth growled.

"Kadaj, lock yourself in your room," Angeal commanded, visibly struggling with Sephiroth.

"But I—"

"_Now."_

Kadaj grumbled under his breath, but stood up to obey Angeal regardless, dancing away with a stifled scream as Sephiroth hissed at him as he passed. Cloud managed to throw Genesis off himself and onto the couch beside Zack, and stood angrily for a moment, panting for breath. Angeal dropped to the floor with a grunt as Sephiroth jabbed a well-placed elbow into the man's solar plexus.

"I'm leaving."

Both Cloud and Sephiroth spoke simultaneously, and neither looked at each other as they headed for the door. Cloud reached it first, wrenching it open with one last glare towards Zack. "If you try to contact me," he said with eerie calm, "I will never. Speak. To you. Again." Zack only nodded, terrified of Cloud's threat as he walked out the door.

Sephiroth spared one icy stare over the room. "You _will_ pay for this," he enunciated lowly, before leaving and slamming the door behind himself so hard, the doorframe cracked. It wasn't until he reached his car and pulled with excessive force on the door handle that Sephiroth realized he'd left his keys inside the house.

Lucky for him, a savior with blond hair rescued him with a none-too-gentle pull on his wrist. "Come on," Cloud said, stalking angrily towards his motorcycle and dragging Sephiroth behind him, "motorcycle's faster." He wasted no time, throwing a helmet to Sephiroth, jamming his own helmet over his spikes and swinging a leg over the bike. He started the engine and revved it until he felt Sephiroth's weight settle behind him. As soon as the silveret's arms were remotely wrapped around his waist, Cloud took off, his tires screeching against the pavement.

Inside the house, Angeal, Genesis, and Zack sat shell shocked, unable to speak until after they'd heard the motorcycle zooming away.

"That Cloud was adorable," he mused. "If I weren't already happily in a committed relationship...ah, at any rate, my work is done. Angeal, darling, what should I make for dinner?"

Zack and Angeal groaned. The backlash from this was going to be a _bitch_.

* * *

A/N: So, yes, it has been a while. Trust me, as mad as I know some of you are with me about not writing, I've been a hundred times harder on myself. Writing is my blood, and not being able to do it properly for a while has taken its toll on me as much as extenuating circumstances have taken their toll on my ability to write. I'm trying to get back into it, for my readers as well as myself. Forgive me if it's not up to my usual standards, but I felt the need to try.


	8. Hiatus Note

Hey, guys! This is my most popular story, so I figured I'd put this here. I'm not going to go into details (if you want those, go look at my profile), but I need to take a hiatus from writing for a little while. I'm not sure how long it will last, or if I'll even be able to come back, but hopefully I'll be back soon. I'm super-sorry about this.


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